Plants to attract pollinators: purple and yellow

Choosing plants for our gardens that attract pollinating insects through the seasons is good for biodiversity and fascinating to watch

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<i>Stachyurus praecox</i> is a excellent early-flowering shrub for pollinator
Stachyurus praecox is a excellent early-flowering shrub for pollinator

Quick facts

  • Having a variety of flower types can attract more pollinators
  • Plants flowering at different times of the year provide more opportunity for pollinators
  • Many insects are attracted to yellow and purple colours

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The planting plan

James Lawrence, RHS Principal Horticultural Advisor, has designed this simple, attractive, and most importantly, sustainable border design, which you can try at home with purple- and yellow-flowered plants that are easy to grow, widely available and look good together.

Purple and yellow flowers to attract pollinators

© James Lawrence

Choosing plants for pollinators

Pollinating insects are in decline, but there are plenty of flowering plants to help them. Increasing flowering plants in our gardens can also improve fruit and vegetables: with more pollinating insects around, harvests can be bigger and better.

The campanula provides some groundcover and will help prevent erosion of bare soil. Ground cover can also help to reduce soil surface moisture evaporation and suppress weed growth.

Until the plants have filled out, an organic mulch, preferably homemade compost, can help to improve soil moisture retention and weed suppression. Mulches should be spread when the soil is already moist to help trap some of that moisture before it dries out in summer.

1 - Buddleja davidii 'Nanho Purple'
2 - Stachyurus praecox
3 - Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'
4 - Euphorbia x martinii
5 - Campanula carpatica
1 - Buddleja davidii Nanho Purple is a deciduous shrub with grey-green leaves and fragrant red-purple flowers packed into dense cone-shaped panicles in summer and autumn, which are a magnet for butterflies.

2 - Stachyurus praecox is a deciduous shrub with stunning strings of pale yellow, bell-shaped flowers in winter and early spring.

3 - Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ is a herbaceous perennial with spikes of deep violet-purple flowers rising above narrow, rough grey-green foliage throughout the summer.

4 - Euphorbia x martini has evergreen grey-green leaves and open sprays of yellow-green flowers, sometimes with a purple eye, from mid-spring into summer.

5 - Campanula carpatica is a low-growing herbaceous plant, with green leaves and bright, sky-blue, bell-shaped flowers through the summer.

About plants for pollinators

Using scientific evidence, our extensive experience and the records of gardeners and beekeepers, we’ve selected a range of year-round flowering Plants for Pollinators to tackle the decline in pollinator numbers. Visit our Plants For Pollinators page to discover more of the best plants for attracting pollinators.

Growing plants for pollinators

Many insects are suffering from a lack of pollinator-friendly plants in the countryside to provide nectar and pollen. By offering a good range of pollinator friendly plants in our gardens, we can help these essential creatures to thrive. Increasing biodiversity is also benefical for encouraging a healthy garden ecosystem in general.

Choose plants with a variety of different flower types and structures in order to attract a wider range of pollinators across the seasons. A succession of overlapping flowering times ensures there is always something available.

Why choose a sustainable planting combination?

Using the ethos of ‘right plant, right place’ to create a sustainable planting combination is great for the environment. It helps to avoid waste and the use of products and practices needed to try and help ailing plants, such as applying fertiliser. It also creates robust, long-lived planting that benefits soil health and garden biodiversity.

This combination will also attract more pollinating insects into the garden, creating better diversity by in turn encouraging birds and other wildlife into the garden.

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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.